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Upcoming wartime drama The Guns Of Muschu has assembled a cast of Australian talent ahead of a planned shoot in 2025.

Directed by Australia’s Matthew Holmes, the story is set in the jungles of Papua New Guinea during the Second World War and centres on a mission in which eight commandos went in but only one survived.

The cast is led by Ben Hall, known for his roles in TV miniseries Warnie and Devil’s Playground, alongside Matt Day (Sweet Country), Callan McAuliffe (The Walking Dead), Jordan Fraser-Trumble (The Legend Of Ben Hall), Gerald Lepkowski (The Death Of Stalin), Maximillian Johnson...

Epic war-time survival tale “The Guns of Muschu” has already assembled a weighty cast ahead of a production start in the first quarter of 2025.

The film is an adaptation of the non-fiction book “The Guns of Muschu,” written by Don Dennis, with an adapted screenplay by Tom Broadhurst and Jack Brislee (“Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan”). The narrative brings to life a pivotal chapter of Australian war history with gritty authenticity, recounting the high body count Operation Copper, a mission during WWII when Australian and New Zealand troops were sent into the jungles of Papua New Guinea.

The objective of the mission was to investigate the Japanese defenses on Muschu Island, capture a Japanese officer for interrogation and discover the location of two naval guns on the island that were protecting a harbor. Eight commandos were landed as part of the operation, but only one survived.

The story...

"What makes you think we'd ever let you go?" Damn! Madman Films in Australia has unveiled their official trailer for The Cost, a riveting crime thriller from filmmaker Matthew Holmes. This premiered at the 2022 MonsterFest in Australia last year, but hasn't shown many other places yet. Intent on dispensing their own brutal form of justice, two ordinary men abduct a felon who committed a horrific crime many years before. This vigilante justice story set over 48 hours is an intense look at just how far some will go to get back at evil people. Once you watch this trailer, the title of "The Cost" will make much more sense. There definitely is a cost... This stars Jordan Fraser-Trumble, Damon Hunter, Kevin Dee, Clayton Watson, Nicole Pastor, Nadia Fragnito, and Mark Redpath. Looks like it could be disturbingly good. There's still no US release set yet, have to keep an eye out for more updates.

Stars: Nicole Pastor, Jordan Fraser-Trumble, Damon Hunter, Kevin Dee, Clayton Watson, Nadia Fragnito, Mark Redpath | Written by Matthew Holmes, Gregory Moss | Directed by Matthew Holmes

A voicemail message opens director Matthew Holmes’ film The Cost, as Stephanie (Nicole Pastor) leaves a message for her husband apologising for an argument while asking to be picked up from the station. As the recording conveys her sincerity in making up, that hope is drained due to the following sight of Stephanie’s lifeless body. The story then flashes to the present day, as David (Jordan Fraser-Trumble) and Aaron (Damon Hunter) prepare themselves for the coming weekend. Their loved ones are told the pair are going on a camping trip, although the packed items hint at more sinister plans.

A sense of foreboding is effectively set, as The Cost also shows Troy (Kevin Dee) drowning his sorrows, unaware of what is coming. Abducted and taken to a private property,...

Exclusive: Australia-based Bronte Pictures has signed a sales deal with Archstone Entertainment for three new projects, which will be launched at this week’s EFM in Berlin.

The Greatest Surf Movie In The Universe is set to star Luke Hemsworth (Westworld), eleven-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater (Baywatch) and three-time world champion surfer and shark attack survivor Mick Fanning as their futuristic alter-egos. The off-beat adult comedy will include stop motion animation characters.

Clayton Watson (Matrix Reloaded) and Jake Ryan (Wyrmwood: Apocalypse) is due to star in action film Kane, about a man who works for an old-school crime boss with multiple personalities who is at war with a notorious gangster.

Thriller The Cost follows two men who kidnap the man who murdered their wife and sister fifteen years ago and take him to a remote location to dispense their own brutal form of justice. It stars Jordan Fraser-Trumble (Lawless:...

The arrival of Hollywood superstars and government money for tentpole movies have grabbed headlines in Australia. But independent film productions are also moving ahead in post-covid Australia.

Production will start next month in Perth, Western Australia on “It Only Takes A Night,” a film that is both a romantic comedy and a female empowerment movie. A first feature for writer-director Callan Durlik, the film follows four best friends on a girl’s night out, and end up on a path none expected.

Eliza Taylor (“The 100”) takes the starring role at the top of an ensemble cast that also includes George Pullar, Sana’a Shaik (“2067,” Netflix’s upcoming “Dive Club”), Arielle Carver-o’Neill (“Ash vs Evil Dead”), Charles Grounds and Jaime Ureta and local actor Ana Ika making her feature debut. Production is by Durlik and Josh Horneman of Rookies Ambush (“The Naked Wanderer”), Megan Wynn of Wynn Media (“The Invisible Man...

Melbourne is the setting for a new psychological revenge drama from director, writer, and producer Matthew Holmes.

Filming has begun in and around the city on The Cost, a tale of vengeance that spirals out of control across a 48-hour period.

The ensemble cast includes Jordan Fraser-Trumble, Damon Hunter, and Kevin Dee, with supporting roles from Joshua Jaeger, Cait Spiker, Sotiris Tzelios, Nicole Pastor , Adam Willson, Nadia Fragnito and Mark Redpath.

Co-written by Gregory Moss, the film is a co-production between Holmes’ Two Tone Pictures and producer Russell Cunningham of Rlc Motion Picture Entertainment, who teamed up for the historical drama The Legend of Ben Hall in 2016.

Adam La Rosa of La Rosa Productions is on board as executive producer, along with Rohan Muggleton, Alexander Moss, Ross Angelo, and Joshua Little.

Holmes said the story was designed to explore “the emotional and mental consequences” of carrying out an act of...

Callan McAuliffe, Andy McPhee, Arthur Angel and John Orcsik have joined the cast of writer-director Matthew Holmes. The Legend of Ben Hall, which started shooting on Sunday in regional Victoria. The plot follow the last six turbulent months of the life of the notorious bushranger (newcomer Jack Martin), whose gang pulled off the largest gold heist in the British Empire, and the circumstances surrounding his controversial execution by police in 1865.

Martin played the character in Holmes. Kickstarter-funded short film, footage from which is being incorporated in the feature. The cast includes Joanne Dobbin as his ex-wife Biddy, Adam Willson as Mick Coneley, who harboured Hall, Jamie Coffa and William Lee as fellow gang members, Angus Pilakui as an Aboriginal tracker, Jordan Fraser-Trumble as Inspector Davidson and Gregory Quinn as Sergeant Condell.

The La-based McAuliffe (The Great Gatsby, Robot Overlords) and McPhee (Animal Kingdom, Sons of Anarchy) are playing members of the gang.

Jack Martin as Ben Hall.

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When writer-director Matthew Holmes raised $78,000 on Kickstarter last year to fund a short film on Ben Hall, his ultimate aim was to use the short as a stepping stone to a feature about the notorious bushranger and his gang.

Holmes is getting his wish as The Legend of Ben Hall is due to start principal photography in regional Victoria on March 23.

Wolf Creek creator Greg Mclean has joined the project as executive producer and mentor to Holmes, whose debut feature Twin Rivers, which he self-financed and produced over six years, told of two brothers (played by Matthew and his brother Darren) who set off on an 800 km trek across South-Eastern Australia in 1939.

Most of the cast and crew of the Ben Hall short will work in the feature, led by newcomer Jack Martin as Hall, who led the most notorious bushranger gang in Australia's history...

Matthew Homes. fundraising efforts for The Legend of Ben Hall were so successful the writer-producer-director is preparing a 50-minute version of the bushranger tale, expanded from the originally intended 40 minutes.

Depicting the last six months of Hall.s life, the production is due to start shooting in and around Kyneton in country Victoria on August 18.

The film must be completed by May 5, in time to premiere at that month.s festival in Forbes marking the 150th anniversary of Hall.s death. Holmes then plans a month-long screening tour through towns in country Nsw, followed by festival bookings. Hall spent much of his life in and near the Nsw town.

He intends to show completed footage to potential investors so he can turn it into an 85-minute feature. The longer-term goal, he says, is to spark sufficient interest in that chapter of Australian history so he can raise the finance for a three-hour opus,...